Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Shares Sold by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 8.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,480 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Itron were worth $2,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Itron in the 1st quarter valued at about $401,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Itron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,504,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter worth $11,654,000. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Itron during the 1st quarter worth about $7,170,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Itron in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,718,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Itron Stock Performance

NASDAQ ITRI opened at $101.69 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.45. Itron, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.11 and a 1 year high of $113.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.25. Itron had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.98%. The firm had revenue of $609.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,643,169. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ITRI. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Itron from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Itron from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Itron presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.20.

About Itron

Itron, Inc, a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products.